The US Treasury yesterday revamped the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to curb chances the giant mortgage finance firms could emerge from government control as the powerful, profit-driven corporations they once were.

The Treasury said it would require the companies, whose massive losses threatened the financial system after the housing bubble burst, to shrink their investment portfolios more quickly and turn over any profits to taxpayers.

Under the previous terms of the bailout, the companies, which buy mortgages from lenders and repackage them as securities for investors, were required to make a 10 percent dividend payment to the Treasury. At times, they had to borrow from the Treasury just to make the payments. Now, they simply won’t be able to retain any profits.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were seized by the government at the height of the financial crisis in 2008 as mortgage losses threatened their solvency. Since then, they have drawn a total of $188 billion in taxpayer funds to stay afloat, while paying more than $45 billion in dividends.

At the start of next year, the unlimited support the Treasury extended to the two companies will expire. After Dec. 31, Fannie Mae’s bailout will be capped at $125 billion and Freddie Mac will have a limit of $149 billion.